Working together, officials at the Department of Justice and the Bureau of Immigration drafted legislation designed to remedy the defects in current legislation by defining anarchism broadly enough to cover all forms activity related to its advocacy, including membership in or affiliation with any organization or group that advocated opposition to all forms of organized government.[3] The new legislation removed the provision in prior law that aliens who had resided in the United States for more than 5 years were not subject to deportation.[3] The bill passed the House of Representatives quickly. While waiting for the Senate, representatives of the two sponsoring government departments held meetings to develop a strategy for handling the "disposition of cases of alien anarchists, some of whom are Italian anarchists and others Industrial Workers of the World and Russian Union workers, now pending."[3]

Senator Borah of Idaho was one of the few opposed, but he was not prepared to try to prevent a vote. When the bill passed, it included additional punishment for anyone deported who returned to the United States. The punishment for that was a prison term of 5 years followed by deportation once again.[3]

(b) aliens who advise, advocate, or teach, or who are members of, or affiliated with, any organization, society, or group, that advises, advocates, or teaches opposition to all organized government;

(c) aliens who believe in, advise, advocate, or teach, or who are members of, or affiliated with, any organization, association, society, or group, that believes in, advises, advocates, or teaches:

(1) the overthrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States or of all forms of law, or

(2) the duty, necessity, or propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any officer or officers, either of specific individuals or of officers generally, of the Government of the United States or of any other organized government, because of his or their official character, or

(3) the unlawful damage, injury, or destruction of property, or

(4) sabotage;

(d) aliens who write, publish, or cause to be written or published, or who knowingly circulate, distribute, print, or display, or knowingly cause to be circulated, distributed, printed, or displayed, or knowingly have in their possession for the purpose of circulation, distribution, publication, or display any written or printed matter, advising, advocating, or teaching opposition to all government, or advising, advocating, or teaching:

(1) the ovethrow by force or violence of the Government of the United States or of all forms of law, or

(2) the duty, necessity, or propriety of the unlawful assaulting or killing of any officer or officers of the Government of the United States or of any other government, or

(3) the unlawful damage, injury, or destruction of property, or

(4) sabotage;

(e) aliens who are members of, or affiliated with, any organization, association, society, or group, that writes, circulates, distributes, prints, publishes, or displays, or causes to be written, circulated, distributed, printed, published, or displayed, or that has in its possession for the purpose of circulation, distribution, publication, or display, any written or printed matter of the character in subdivision (d).

In 1919, the New York Times reported that in the fiscal year 1918, two anarchists were denied entry to the U.S., 37 were deported, and 55 were awaiting deportation.[4] The Times offered an editorial comment contrasting those low numbers with the degree of public disturbance the country was experiencing: "It appears to be difficult to find alien anarchists. Yet those in the United States seldom practice long either silence or concealment."

After more than four thousand alleged anarchists were arrested for deportation under the act, the Department of Labor released the bulk of those arrested. Acting Secretary of LaborLouis Freeland Post was threatened with impeachment for his findings in favor of those charged in deportation cases.[8] A total of 556 persons were eventually deported under the Immigration Act of 1918. It was repealed in 1952.[citation needed]